Start from the basics
by Yarabrien
Summary: Making Pact is never a good way to handle events. Jayden once had hoped that things could be resolved, Death reminded him of the reality. He then decided that he would stop being forced to stand aside and traded Ten years of servitude for Two years of training. His master swore by his power that the training would S At the end. Someone. Will. Die.


**Notes:**

 **This is my first written story of my life, just do not insult me.**

 **I mostly wrote pages-long backgrounds for Rpg characters and then gotten into fanfics/stories due to the groups being disbanded and me being emotionally tied to those characters. So there is a lot of me in there I just need to write it down, while also preventing your eyes from exploding due to errors.**

 **This one should be (as far as I read on the internet about fanfics/stories categories) an AU (?).**

 **It is based after the events of Skin Game (Althought the first chapter should be Spoiler-free) and in another geographical zone.**

 **While characters will pop-up as the story goes on.**

 **Also let me now if there are more appropriate categories and I'll update the chapter accordingly (with references if possible as I mostly browse on my martphone which is a pain).**

 **So I'll format it when College gives me time.**

 **right now I got to study 12 chapters in 15 days and practice. Yay.**

 **So:**

 **timeline: after SkinGame**

 **Category: AlternateUniverse (read Notes)  
Characters: I will update the story summary if they pop up.**

 **Disclaimer:**

 **(The author Jim Butcher asked to put this before anything)**

 _ **The Dresden Files/Codex Alera is copyright Jim Butcher. This story is licensed under the Creative Commons as derivative, noncommercial fiction.**_

* * *

We were driving in the busy Highways of Rome and they were Hell.

I grunted, resting my head to the side of my couch. Yes couch, in a limousine.

It's an old model.

"You won't be so eager in thirty minutes"

A two-meter man sitting in front of me, he had Grey hair and a british accent.

"I would not despise some spoilers" I said.

He let out a little laugh, somewhere I also caught a little cough.

"Spoiler number one: in a century or so you will die of age."

Sarcasm. The fight is on.

"What can I say, limited for VIPs."

"Tsk. Mortals always come up with excuses for their mortality", his tone was a patronizing one.

"And Dragons cannot turn away from adulation, o' powerful and imperious being" now I was not sarcastic, if I was I would have insulted his ego. Not good.

I was confirming my scientific theory.

A little spark of what I hoped not-to-be rage gleamed in his eyes.

"We are what we are, I guess. But I will still be here, provided enough avoidance of violent-death" and then he looked our of the window "I must warn you, there will be others like me, and their employee..They are usually associated with their masters through bond of similarity" he stopped to take breath "The council is our war zone, but we won't fight it, our mortals shall instead".

I tilted my head to one side "How comes?".

He then looked at me "Last time Dragons fought Dinousaurs extincted, it wasn't profitable for us" and then he glanced down a bit, probably trying to think of how to explain a three-years-old baby equations.

"We will abide by internal laws at least for now. You will notice soon enough what this means and the laws will be".

Then I suddenly felt like not talking for a while.

Whatever, we woke up at four that morning and I was sleepy.

We arrived at the Vatican, precisely in the square, under THE balcony, I wore a full black suit with a pair of leather shoes, classy.

The old man, whose name was Arthur preceded me, he was wearing a red tunic with gold embroidery, like he was cosplaying a medieval cardinal.

And he bought his cane with him, it was an oak staff with two symbols carved on it.

I did not know what those meant.

On the left side of the balcony, ground floor, a door opened and three people with blue, green and white tunics with the same gold 'thingy', they stood there waiting for us.

When we arrived Arthur bowed and they so they did.

Then whitey started talking "I welcome thee, I shall not speak thee name out loud brethren but I recognize you Red one" and then I Swear I felt something vibrate in the air and they all bowed their heads a little.

Then they all turned unto me.

And my wings spread wide open.

Ok, there are some benefits to working with a Dragon, Arthur has given me some of his shapeshifting power and I growth a pair of freaking badass wings.

Average mortal, for sure.

Badass feathery wings? Always.

But thing is, I did not walk here with my wings spread open, I actually veiled them. Visually retracted them, at least.

And they just destroyed my incredible mask.

They also must have been able to read my mind because Blue one said.

"Do not worry Emissary, we are veiled from mortal eyes."

Turning up the corners of his mouth "now if you please" and he showed us the open door.

I bowed and followed Arthur inside.

After five minutes of incredibly long stairs we were shown our room.

Fourth floor.

"The Council will begin in one hour, Red One would you please follow us for the preparations?" said the Green One.

Sir Arthur lowered his bag on his bed "Incoming".

Well that was a fast answer.

He then looked at me "Do not destroy the room would you?"

"Ah-ha. What would you expect me to do? Demolish it?"

I did it once.

Twice, but the second one wasn't my direct fault.

He winked at me then he followed his colleagues.

I settled in, the room big enough to fit four beds and still have place for a fifty or more-inches Tv.

Don't get me wrong, I live in the center of Milan so my standards are not very low.

There was a table in the center of the room with two envelopes with a sigil on it.

One was marked with the name "Primo" and the other one read "Red", I picked up mine and opened it.

It wasn't totally empty but the only thing that came out was a Bronze Coin. It came pretty fast, fell and touched my head.

In that instant a surge of memories came at me and I blanked out.

When I opened my eyes I was on the top floor of a gargantuan golden temple, everywhere around me there was snow and blizzard but I was not cold.

There was a floating globe in the center of the room I was in, in front of me (almost three meters away) there was a cloud of gasses and it was sort of rotating on itself.

I moved a bit around, we were pretty damn high.

I looked at my back and I did not have wings, nor they came when I tried to invoke them.

Shit.

I looked again in the direction of the cloud, for a moment I thought that I was starting to move.

No, not move it was rotating faster.

What the hell was that.

"That, my friend is your conscience" an-almost-too-sweet voice said behind me.

I yelped and turned my back on the gas cloud. Facing the..There was a woman behind me.

I did not see or hear her.

Oh crap.

She was almost as high as me, and I am one-meter ninety almost.

She had dark blue hair and black eyes, I could see only two forms which I won't name here.

The cloak she was wearing wasn't fair with her body.

She blushed a little.

"Oh why, thank you" she smiled while saying.

What the crap.

What.

"Uh"

She arced an eyebrow at me.

"What what?"

Are you listening this?

"Yes I am" she confirmed.

"That is not nice." and I pointed at my head "Get out, please".

My tone was pretty harsh, reading my mind actually hurts my pride I think.

"Oh come on. We are in your DreamWorld hence I cannot get out of your brain. You invited me in." she told me, like a mother to a stupid child.

"I thought one did not dream when he blacked out" and I was pretty damn confused.

But hey, that could be true. Or it could be a trap.

I was leaning more on the last one.

"Ok let's settle this." she said and then walked to the orb.

She passed a hand on it and the figure of my body on the floor appeared.

She then proceeded to say "You are dreaming. This is a pocket-magic world that you created."

I looked at the orb, I usually could not sense anything magical but in that moment I was able to scan the orb.

My world, my rules. I could become breathtaking.

And it seemed fine.

The woman smiled at me.

"Acceptance, good" then she started walking and positioned herself between the orb and me.

Which was waaay to close for me and I darted back crouching a bit into defensive position.

"Oh Come On!" she laughed a little"Now I see why you ain't laid, damn."

How did she...Yeah mind-reading jutsu, forgot.

I then tried to calm myself.

Which was hard.

"So what do you want, you are not a product of my mind."

And the grass is green.

She proceeded to lift two fingers.

"Phase two: revelation" she said.

"I am an Angel."

Yeah, right.

Of course.

Who would believe otherwise given how cute she was.

She blushed.

I grunted and tried to not look directly at her.

"Of course, an Angel of the Lord inside my head without my permission. The Almighty seems a very nice guy." I added.

I expected a sign of some sort but business seems to be handled Business-to-Customer these days.

I am too young for this.

She started laughing.

And laughing.

"Oh no-no-no-no, you got it totally wrong."

She was actually trying to not curl on the floor laughing.

Like it was freaking obvious.

"I am not and Angel of the Lord."

I clenched my fist. Fists.

That meant one thing: A Fallen.

It was even bound to a Coin.

Dammit Jay.

The cloud whirled at me while my survival instincts went up.

I shifted into combat position but I, of course, could not stop gasses.

And I also did not see it.

And it came from a not-honorable direction.

It was whirling around me, I started immediately hearing whispers in the head-inside-my-head.

"Trust her."

"Believe her".

She then eyed me.

"Oh no, wait."

She now shifted her facial expression, moving a tone to a more serious one.

"That is wrong too!"

And then I swear I saw her panic a bit.

"I do not trust you Fallen, you would say anything to make me accent you"

Then I turned and tried to reach the border of the roof-room we were in and aimed for the fall.

Before I could do anything she appeared in front of me.

"Listen to me."

"No."

Damn right I wouldn't.

I darted to the right. Ran across the border and throw myself on whatever was below.

Which turned out to me a pretty high fall.

Like, kilometers high.

"Maybe this will wake me up" I whispered.

I heard her again.

"Spoiler: No it won't"

Oh are you serious.

I felt myself being pulled up.

And up.

I blinked and we were still on the roof.

"You have to hear me out, pretty please." she said.

"Do I have a choice?"


End file.
